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27

I N N O V AT I O N S • V O L . V I I , N O. 2 • 2 0 1 5

how to go about protecting pipeline integrity.

Instead of presenting operators with a lengthy list

of “do’s and don’ts” to prevent pipeline failure,

more governments are asking, “Show me what

you’re doing to protect your pipelines’ integrity.”

The result has been greater levels of innovation

and growing appreciation for the many benefits

of PIMS.

This trend is encouraging. The practice of

well-crafted PIMS processes – with the assistance

of carefully chosen software solutions – is proving

to be an added-value proposition for pipeline

operators. Every bit of accurate, aligned data

that operators cull from their PIMS processes

equips them to make better choices, choices

that ultimately help them achieve their mission-

critical goals of greater pipeline safety and

increased efficiency.

of midstream and gathering lines is the fuel cost to

gather, dehydrate, and compress the gas,” Zellou

explains. “Not only does efficient liquids removal

create a revenue opportunity, it also helps the

operator minimize costs.

“Operators already know this simple equation:

profit equals revenue minus cost,” he adds.

“Using technology to generate additional revenue

and control costs makes shale development

less sensitive to price swings and increases

profitability.”

So, where, exactly, does automation figure into

the calculation? For Zellou, it fits into both the

health and wealth of a pipeline. And the potential

impact is enormous.

Although he’s still working to put hard

numbers to the benefits Eagle Ford operators

might accrue by, for example, switching to

automated pig launching – using equipment that

can be remotely programmed to deploy multiple

spheres or pigs on a regular schedule – the

preliminary figures suggest savings in the hundreds

of thousands of dollars.

And here’s how that adds up: Not only can

automated systems more efficiently launch spheres

to capture valuable NGLs and optimize product

flow (that’s the wealth part Zellou mentioned),

they can dispatch cleaning pigs to eliminate

paraffin, the wax that creates an environment

where corrosion-causing, deadly H2S-breeding

microbes thrive (which is the health part).

Automation can also reduce the blowdown

associated with opening and closing the doors

during a normal pigging operation by up to 90

percent. And it increases the life of the valves used

in the system because they’re operated less.

But beyond those benefits, automated,

unmanned operation reduces work hours and

helps protect personnel safety. And in the Eagle

Ford, the well-being of the workforce has become

a significant challenge.

That’s because as the region has boomed, travel

along the Eagle Ford’s remote, narrow roads has

become more treacherous. Crews who need to

load and retrieve pigs or spheres from a non-

automated pigging system may face daily trips to

those lines, easily driving as much as seven hours.

But with auto-launching, field personnel are on-

site only twice during an entire cycle of a week or

more, significantly reducing personnel travel time.

Are Lower Prices the NewNorm?

It could be said that for oil and gas operators, there’s

no such thing as living in the present. Even the

commodity pricing structure is built on futures.

So, what do the years ahead hold for the

Eagle Ford? What will the new normal be? Given

the complexity of the global energy market, the

impulses of OPEC, and the continuing ban on

American crude exports, it’s not easy to predict

with complete certainty.

But what we do know is this: Automation is

continuing to breathe new life, health, and wealth

into the region.

TheEconomics of Efficiency

CONTINUED FROM COVER STORY PAGE 19